He had won three Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs, and now he’s back via a trade
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs reacquire DT Derrick Nnadi via trade with Jets for late-round picks
- Nnadi brings 115-game experience and three Super Bowl titles back to KC
- Jets moved Nnadi after adding new DTs and shifting roster priorities
Derrick Nnadi is back with the Chiefs.
The defensive tackle who had been with the Chiefs since 2018 signed with the New York Jets after last season. But the teams pulled off a trade Sunday, with Kansas City sending the Jets a 2027 conditional sixth-round pick for Nnadi and a conditional seventh-round pick.
Nnadi is reunited with a Chiefs team that was looking for reinforcements on the defensive interior.
In his seven seasons with the Chiefs, Nnadi started 87 of 115 regular-season games and 12 of 18 playoff games while playing for three Super Bowl championship teams. He’s a run-stuffer who plays primarily on early downs.
Nnadi had logged 66 snaps and made five tackles for the Jets in the preseason. The Jets acquired two defensive tackles in trades last week, however, pushing Nnadi to the roster bubble.
Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, who was at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts for Sunday’s premiere of “The Kingdom” docuseries, talked glowingly of the re-acquisition.
“I think it’s great,” Cullen said. “We’re always looking to boost the roster and Coach (Andy) Reid and (general manager) Brett Veach do a phenomenal job.
“Derrick is one of us and he’s played a lot of great football here, so it’s great to get him back.”
After losing Nnadi and Turk Wharton after last season, the Chiefs looked to bolster their interior defensive line by signing Jerry Tillery and drafting Omar Norman-Lott.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler first reported the news of Sunday’s trade.
The Star’s Pete Grathoff contributed.
This story was originally published August 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM.